


Stain Remover

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-10
Updated: 2009-02-10
Packaged: 2019-01-19 16:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12413880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: Filius Flitwick is struck by the idea of a Secret Santa and he tests it on the staff of Hogwarts.





	Stain Remover

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

Filius felt the usual anxiety he consistently got when he was about to speak in front of a crowd, whether the crowd was a group of strangers, the students or his fellow staff (like the group in front of him now). He always got the feeling that everything would go horribly wrong and he would get fired from the Headmaster's position and the school would go up in flames just because he said the wrong thing. It hadn't happened yet, but he still kept his guard up, just in case.

Flitwick waved his small hands to signal to the group of teachers and other staff members that it was time to be quiet. They quieted down quickly and Flitwick stood up straight on his stool. He cleared his throat lightly and shook himself to prepare for the words he was about to say.

"Hello, everyone," he squeaked nicely, smiling a painful smile.

"Hello, Filius," the crowd greeted him back in a monotone. Filius nodded quickly and shifted on his tall stool.

"So after last year's complaints, I have come up with a solution," Flitwick announced, smiling a small, hopeful smile. No one had thrown tomatoes yet, so they probably weren't going to start now.

"Yes?" McGonagall asked in a bored tone.

"I was thinking that it would be a spiffing idea if the staff here all got a Secret Santa and—" But before Filius could continue, he was cut off by the many reactions of the staff.

"A Secret Santa? What are we, students?"

"That sounds like fun! I remember when..."

"I haven't done this in years!"

And then of course, there were the two staff members who left silently, trying not to get caught as they sneaked out stealthily to avoid having to buy presents at all.

"Quiet!" Filius cried, sighing. The members of the staff at Hogwarts were just as bad as their students. "Everyone! Please stop talking!"

"Shh!" Irma Pince whispered loudly in a with her almost magical librarian whisper. The room silenced immediately. Filius smiled confusedly.

"I have got to learn how to do that..." he muttered to himself.

"Filius, are you seriously asking some of the most mature professors in all of the Wizarding world to participate in a such a juvenile holiday activity?" McGonagall asked in an annoyed  
tone. "Why would anyone our age need a silly game to choose presents for—"

"Minerva. That is quite enough," Poppy said briskly, hers words ending Minerva's rant quickly and painlessly. Filius smiled gratefully to Poppy.

"Thank you Poppy," he started, sighing. She cut him short before he went too far.

"Filius, don't think that I agree with this either, just because I got High and Mighty Minerva to shut her trap." Poppy told him, rolling her green eyes. "I was getting sick of her never-ending ramble on how we are all far to mature for this. Tell me though, Flitwick, why on earth would we need a Secret Santa system?"

"Well, I don't know about all of you, but last year I paid quite a lot on gifts for all of the staff, and seeing as there are so many of us and all, I thought it would be nicer to save this Christmas." After explaining this, many more staff members seemed to warm to wards the idea. Feeling that he was on a roll, Flitwick decided to go down a more uncertain road now. "And also, some people aren't very adept at buying presents so they may have more time to get one or two remotely decent—" Flitwick stopped, blushing, and corrected himself. "I mean,  
certain members of our staff are brilliant professors and rule-enforcers and such, but..."

"I believe what Filius is attempting to relay to us is that one sublime gift may be more appreciated than if one were to receive many small and useless trinkets that are not as personal." Irma Pince clearly told them, her aged tone oddly not scratchy and wild. In Filius' opinion, it was long past time she retired, but today he was perfectly fine with her staying if she was planning to help him out. He really needed to think up what he was planning to say before he said it. He didn't think Irma Pince would be keen to finish all of his drifting sentences.

"Exactly," Filius concurred, nodding quickly. "It's almost as though you took the words directly from my mind and..."

"And told everyone what you thought. Yes, I got that feeling myself," Irma drawled, chuckling throatily at Flitwick's drifting words again.

"Absolutely." He agreed, nodding a little more pathetically this time. "Precisely."

"If you're quite finished using synonyms for the same word," McGonagall started huffily. "Then I suggest we continue discussing this... idea." Minerva all but spat out the word. She seemed repulsed by even the thought of a Secret Santa. It made Filius a little bit curious to why she disliked this tradition so passionately.

"Anyone who is completely against this idea, you may leave. I am not planning on forcing anyone to do this. It's Christmas; this is supposed to be fun!" Filius informed them in a disappointed voice, yet a voice that was laced with hopefulness that maybe he could get a crowd of staff to stay and participate. A small group shuffled out, but most of the staff stayed, which surprised Filius. What surprised him even more was that Minerva McGonagall did not leave, even after all of her whining. Neither did Poppy, even after defending Flitwick just to knock him down. Filius had about seven people, if he counted correctly, to participate.

"Fine," Minerva muttered moodily. "I have no choice but to join in on this. I need to be there to say 'I told you so' when it doesn't work out. And besides," she added after a moment of silence. "I do need to save a little more on Christmas gifts this year. Last year I spent far too much on far too many people."

"Great," Filius grumbled, trying to block out the voice of his Scrooge-like co-worker. "Any other comments? No? Good." There were a few scattered laughs as Filius sat down. "So everyone, let's start this, shall we? Write your name on a piece of parchment and put it..." Filius searched the room quickly, looking for something to place the names of the staff members who planned on participating in. "Er, we can put the names in... this bowl." Filius said finally and picked up a used bowl. He wiped out the traces of crackers and trail mix that had previously been in that bowl.

There were a few demands for quills and parchment, but after everything was organized, Filius shook the bowl. "Okay, everyone line up and pick a name out. If you get yourself then put it back in and pick another." And after saying that, a quick line formed and Filius quickly picked out his own Secret Santa. His eyes scanned the name on the paper quickly.

_Rubeus Hagrid_.

.....................................................

Filius marched around Hogsmeade with a perplexed look on his face. What in Merlin's name would Rubeus Hagrid want for Christmas? Filius had circled Hogsmeade several times already and he had had no luck what so ever. All of this Christmas shopping gave him a headache anyway. That was one of the other reasons he had wanted to do a Secret Santa in the first place.

Hagrid liked pets, or animals at least, if Filius could remember correctly. It was rather strange that Filius and Rubeus had been working together for this long and still Filius had a high level of difficulty choosing the present that he thought Hagrid would even remotely enjoy. Filius usually prided himself on being rather decent at buying presents (unlike many of the other staff members), but today he was taking that back.

_If Hagrid liked pets, then maybe the pet store is the place to go,_ thought Filius, after thinking about all of the present-giving for a few moments.

_That wouldn't be too difficult, but if I did get him a pet, then how would I know whether the pet was right for Hagrid?_ He decided to take a look anyway.

It had been a rather long time since the last time Filius had stepped into a pet shop. The last one he had entered had been approximately thirteen years ago, if Filius remembered correctly. His mind was rather foggy in his older years. Maybe that was the reason he was having difficulty with buying Rubeus' present. But Filius knew that it would be foolish just to cancel out the idea of buying a gift and to tell Rubeus, 'Sorry, I'm too old to think properly enough to be a present anymore. Come see me in about three more Christmases; maybe by then I'll be so far gone I'll give you multiple gifts.'

Filius was shaken out of his thinking by the loud noises in the wizarding pet shop. He smiled at one of the crazy nifflers at the door and winked at an owl. The owl looked at him as if to say, 'What are you smoking, old man?', but Filius suspected that was the face he gave everyone and decided maturely not to take offense.

Filius walked continuously around the store, not having any luck picking out a present when he saw the perfect gift. He grabbed one and haphazardly tossed it onto the counter to purchase it.

_Finally,_ thought Filius as he let out a breath of relief. _The headache is over._

..............................

Hagrid stuck one of his humongous hands into Filius' bowl and checked the name on his paper. He sighed, shaking his head. _Irma Pince_ , the paper read. This was the reason why he didn't like secret Santa's; what on earth would Irma Pince need?

Hagrid decided to go to the bookstore. Hagrid usually didn't find himself there, but he knew that Irma Pince could not dislike a book. Hagrid walked around the store for a few minutes, searching for a book that might be more connected to Irma, but he soon gave up. All he knew was she enjoyed yelling and protecting her precious books.

Rubeus strolled down the walls of the bookstore when he decided to give her one of the most well known books in the Wizarding world and even the Muggle one. He quickly picked up the largest dictionary that he could see and went to go pay for it.

_Well,_ Hagrid thought cheerfully to himself. _Tha' was easy._

..................................

Irma collected herself and joined the line with the rest of her staff-mates. She walked slowly to the end of the line and waited her turn until she pulled out the last name there.

_Sybil Trelawney_.

"Excuse me, Filius." She waved at the short headmaster. "Is it in any way possible that perhaps I could change mine for another?"

"I'm sorry, Irma," he said in an impatient tone. "But that would ruin the idea of Secret Santa. You would only change who you have if you got yourself."

"Okay, then." Irma nodded curtly. "I've gotten myself." There were a few chuckles and Filius rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure, Irma." He nodded and turned, putting the bowl back on to the table. "Alright, so these gifts must be under five Galleons, at the very highest," he told the group, while looking more pointedly at Minerva. She ignored him, so he continued with a sigh. "All of the gifts must be here by Christmas Eve at the latest. You are free to put the gifts in here before then, but make sure they are wrapped." Everyone nodded. Irma scowled.

Christmas shopping for Sybil Trelawney. What a fun experience this would be. A study of Sybil in her natural habitat would be necessary to decide what gift might suit her. The study would commence the next morning.

....................................

On the topic of another staff member's Secret Santa, Argus Filch was feeling rather mortified as he read the name of his.

_Minerva McGonagall._

Argus had always admired Minerva for her rule-abiding nature and strict together-ness. He admired her in a way that the students might call (and really, who needs students?) fancying. It was embarrassing, but now it was Argus' chance to show Minerva how he felt by buying her the best present in the history of five-Galleon Secret Santas.

Argus started by entering the bookstore. He had seen Minerva with a book every now and then. She was so very dedicated; Argus could barely stand touching books, let alone even consider reading one of them.

It appeared that entering the bookstore with a great hate for books wasn't quite the smartest idea. Argus realized this, embarrassedly, after spending twenty minutes glaring at the books and covering his mouth to keep out the repugnant smell. He exited as soon as he realized his error.

Argus moved on, now knowing that the buying of a present did not only mean thinking of the person you were buying for, but also about yourself. He knew that there was no way anything would have been bought in that bookstore. The walk down Hogsmeade ended when Argus' eyes met the sign of a rather famous store in the Wizarding world.

Vanessa's Secret.

He ran in, knowing that he himself definitely was not opposed to anything in there.

...................................

Irma glared into the book she had picked up. The book was called 'Christmas: A Guide' and it hadn't been very helpful. She dropped the book and picked up her next book. This one was called 'Present Buying Made Easy'. Irma leafed through it carefully, searching for the section on things that Sybil Trelawney would like. She dropped it after a few moments and picked up the next one, huffing moodily.

She searched until she came upon the book with the information she had been searching for. There weren't exact details on what to get Trelawney, but it was a nice second; the book was called 'Hippies of Magic'. It had information on things that hippies might want. Irma glanced at the diagram of the hippy, eying it warily. She nodded curtly as she compared the hippy creature to Sybil.

She was most definitely a hippy of the worst kind. Irma flipped through the book and smiled at the map to the city that would have a million things Sybil would love: Peacity.

..............................................

Sybil looked pensively at the name etched on her piece of parchment.

_Argus Filch._

Sybil had always thought that Christmas shopping was easy, so she decided to just run out to buy something that very night. She walked into her favorite store, Read My Leaves, and walked quickly to a section of the store that had what she was looking for.

_Ah!_ She thought pleasantly. _There is my perfect gift for Argus Filch! I simply cannot wait for his reaction._

And with that, she lovingly picked up the future present and purchased it for a single Sickle. She'd be saving this Christmas, just as Flitwick had said.

.................................

Irma smiled stiffly at the city in front of her. It was full of colors and people laughing and smiling. It was bright there. It was almost blindingly bright, in fact. Irma closed her eyes briefly, massaged her temples, and began her mission to purchase the correct gift for Sybil.

Irma walked and walked until she reached a store called 'The Lovefactory'. Irma wrinkled her nose at the happy title and the cheesiness of it all. After shaking herself, she realized that even though the store was disgustingly cute and creepy, Sybil would adore it.

Irma took a deep breath, shook herself once more and walked ominously into The Lovefactory. It was going to be a long day.

..............................

Poppy Pomfrey groaned as she walked dutifully up to the bowl. She really hated Secret Santas. She didn't even know why she was even participating in this. She sighed as she stuck her careful hands into the bowl. Out of the bowl, Poppy took the clean parchment and walked a safe distance away before unfolding it and reading the name.

_Cuthbert Binns._

"Oh, you have got to be bloody kidding me!" Poppy cried, shaking her head in disbelief. "Is this for real?"

Minerva laughed darkly in Poppy's direction. "It can't be as bad as mine."

"Do we have to do this?" Poppy asked, knowing that she sounded rather childish.

"It's Christmas," Argus croaked, appearing to be quite uncharacteristically jolly. "How would you feel if you didn't receive a gift?"

"Yeah, yeah," Poppy muttered. Just as she said that, Binns floated on by her, gazing confusedly at his parchment.

"This is... baffling," he mumbled quietly. "What would..." He looked up and his eyes cleared. It looked almost as though he were snapping out of a trance. Poppy shook her head once more.

"What is it, Cuthbert?" Poppy asked in a dry, emotionless tone.

"Hmm..." he said pensively. "Poppy," Binns started, now looking up at her. "What do you want for Christmas?" Poppy rolled her eyes at his not-so-subtle question.

"A million Galleons and a nice broom," she told him, laughing.

"Oh," Cuthbert replied, looking puzzled. "That's troubling." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Poppy to chuckle to herself. She wouldn't enjoy buying his gift, but she definitely couldn't wait to see what he would get for her.

........................

Minerva rolled her eyes stiffly as she read the name on the parchment she had pulled out. The name was written in the most tidy, small and curly letters.

_Filius Flitwick._

_This is so ironic_ , thought Minerva. _I get the ringleader._

She decided to go out and purchase the gift for him that very day. Minerva Flooed to Hogsmeade quickly and decided to walk into an antique store. Filius was always complaining about how empty his office felt and Minerva _had_ been the one to help Dumbledore fill his office.

Minerva looked around the store leisurely, remembering all of the times that she had gone there to buy things for Albus. She nearly started tearing up, when she saw it.

It was the perfect gift.

Minerva grabbed it carefully and wiped her eyes quickly to prevent any tears from leaking out. She bought the gift and went back to Hogsmeade, feeling much better about the whole Secret Santa idea.

_Maybe_ , thought Minerva, _just maybe, Filius has gotten this Christmas thing right_.

....................

Irma sighed as she exited the fifth store in Peacity. She was feeling rather ill after spending so much time in a hippy city. She didn't know how much longer her sanity would be able to hold for. Irma had to buy a gift, and quick.

She walked across the narrow street briskly and walked into another store. This one appeared to be selling books. Even amongst the hippy "vibes" and whatnot, Irma felt much better as she entered the bookstore. She breathed in the calming scent of books as she walked down an aisle.

Irma did try to find something for Sybil, she really did try, but she got a little carried away. After spending a horrible day wandering around a circus town, being around books was all she wanted. Irma picked a random book off of the shelf and held it close to her spectacle-covered eyes. She read the first page, finding that the book was a guide on tea-leaf reading.

_Hmm..._ thought Irma. Perhaps I could get this for Sybil and read a little of it myself.

And with that, Irma picked herself up and made her way to the front of the store. The groovy little shopkeeper grinned wildly at her as he stroked his colorful beard. It wasn't normal, but Irma didn't feel as uneasy as before. Everything is all right when you have books.

_And really,_ thought Irma after buying the small book. _Who can hate a city that has books?_

.............

"Hello, everyone!" Filius greeted cheerfully, late on Christmas Eve night. He was ignored as the staff members in the room continued to chat merrily among their friends. "Hello?" He said, much less confidently. Filius sighed and looked over to Irma hopefully. She rolled her eyes, but shushed the group of rowdy professors nonetheless.

"Hello, everyone," Filius repeated, smiling at the group in front of him.

"Hello, Filius," the staff replied without any emotion, like usual. Flitwick ignored this and moved on quickly.

"Does anyone want to start by opening their gift?" He asked hesitantly, sensing that not many would. He was a rather smart man; no one made a move towards the tree. "Anyone?" He asked in a slightly desperate tone. Now it was Poppy's turn to roll her eyes.

"Don't get emotional, Flitwick," she chuckled as she got to her feet. Filius breathed an audible sigh of relief. "I'll go first." She announced as she plopped down onto the ground next to the tree.

"Wait, wait!" Minerva interrupted. The group turned to face her.

"Minerva," Filius started in an incredulous tone. "Don't tell me you want to go first now," he said, looking rather befuddled. She scoffed at him and turned away.

"Before you open it," she started, now looking at Poppy, "who do you think has you?"

"Hmm..." Poppy started pensively. "I am going to say... Cuthbert," she announced. The ghost professor paled as she said that.

"How did you ever find out?" He asked, shocked.

"You practically told me yourself when—" Poppy started, but stopped quickly as she saw him drooping at her every word. "Er... lucky guess," she muttered, looking away. Binns seemed to brighten at that. She started to open the gift again, without an interruption this time.

As she opened the gift, Poppy saw that Cuthbert had gotten her a Quidditch Christmas tree ornament set. She smiled at that. She looked underneath it, and there lay a single Galleon with a piece of parchment covering it with the number one million on it. Poppy burst out laughing at that and smiled widely at Binns.

"It was exactly what I wanted," she told him, grinning.

"That's a relief," he sighed, wiping his brow. "Christmas shopping is rather stressful, you know," he added.

"Tell me 'bout it!" Hagrid added enthusiastically, nodding rapidly.

"I agree," Filius added. "But it's all done now, I hope," he said, smiling a small smile. "Now, who wants to have their turn now?"

"I see that I go now," Sybil informed him wisely. Filius simply nodded at her and she made her way to wards the tree. "I already know who had me." Sybil told them all. "Irma Pince." Irma nodded, avoiding her eyes. "I love the gift." Sybil grinned widely and warmly.

"But you haven't opened it yet," Irma protested, looking confused.

"Er...but I just know that I love it," Sybil persisted, nodding and looking a bit defensive.

"What is it, then?" Irma asked, glaring at Trelawney and feeling angry.

"I don't want to spoil it for everyone," she told Irma slowly. "So I'll open it. For their sake."

"How generous," Irma heard McGonagall mutter. She chuckled at that.

As Sybil opened up the gift that Irma had carefully wrapped up in a brown paper, she smiled at the book when she saw it.

"See? I told you I knew," Trelawney said childishly to Irma.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, getting furious at that. "You—"

"Yes," Poppy agreed. "Yes, you did." She nodded and smiled at Sybil like she would to a child of four who was losing his or her way. "Who's going to open theirs now?" she asked, turning away from Sybil.

"I'll go," Minerva said, raising a hand to get the attention towards her. Minerva sat down slowly next to the tree and found her present. It was a square gift, so Minerva assumed it was a box.

"Who do you think had you?" Argus asked, clearing his throat and making sure not to look at her.

"Hmm... Perhaps... I believe that... Poppy has me?" Minerva stated in a questioning tone as she looked at the cleanly wrapped paper. Poppy didn't make a reaction, so Minerva went along and opened the gift. She finished the wrapping paper and made it to the box. She opened it slowly, keeping her eyes on the package and inside was a rather... interesting gift.

"Thank you?" Minerva tried as she looked curiously at the box in front of her. Her Secret Santa had gotten her a box full of... key chains.

"It was me," Argus put in, smiling a toothy smile. "I thought you'd like 'em."

"Of course," Minerva nodded, smiling back weakly.

_Key chains?_ She thought incredulously. _Okay, then._

Filch had chickened out of sending the Vanessa's Secret gift he had bought, but there was always _next_ Christmas. Or her birthday. April 9th.

"So, who's next?" Filius asked, searching the room for a possible present-opener.

"I'll go," Hagrid announced, getting up and trekking to sit by the tree. "I reckon tha' McGonagall got me," He told them as he went to get the small present with the name _Rubeus_ written neatly and in a tiny, curly print.

He opened it quickly, like an excited little kid on Christmas morning. He seemed a little confused when he found his present to be a common stone. "I don' get it," he said with his big, bushy brows knitted together. Just as he spoke, the rock jumped to life. Four small legs popped out of it.

"A pet rock," Filius supplied, smiling hopefully.

"Tha's nifty." Hagrid said as he took a closer look at the small creature. "An' he's jus' so cute!" He cooed appreciatively at the little animal/rock. The animal nuzzled into his large hand and the group all cooed with him. "Thank ye, Fil," Hagrid said, after a moment of playing with his new pet.

"Not a problem, I assure you," he replied, smiling at the reaction to his gift. "Now who's going?"

"I believe I will go," Binns told the group, sliding over to grab his gift. He picked up his present and opened it slowly as he announced, "I believe that Irma had me." Nobody bothered to correct him and tell him that Irma had already admitted to having Sybil.

He opened the package and inside were two things. A card and a bottle of liquid were his gifts. Cuthbert maturely went for the card first and looked confused by what he read.

"Boo-hoo?" He asked, re-reading the card to try to make sense of it.

"Let me see that," Minerva demanded as she took the card from him. She read it and started to laugh. "That is brilliant," she laughed, shaking her head.

The card read:

 

_To Cuthbert_

_What did the ghost say when he was rejected by his lady?_

_Boo-hoo!_

_I have many more where that came from!_

_BOO!_

_From  
Poppy_

 

Irma grabbed it and read it over. "It really isn't all that funny," she informed them, rolling her eyes. "It was rather cheesy."

"Cheesy, shmeesy," Poppy muttered, waving her hand. "That took a long time to think of." While the females of the group were looking at the card, Cuthbert looked at the other part of his gift.

"Harley's Heavy-Duty Stain Remover?" he asked, with a puzzled expression gracing his face. Poppy looked over him and blushed.

"I—er... thought you might need it," she told him, nodding as though most people received stain remover as a gift.

"How thoughtful," he smiled, placing it onto the table.

"Now..." Filius prodded, looking at the group. "Who next?"

"I'll open mine," Irma said after a few moments of silence. She reached from her chair and placed the present on her lap. She could _feel_ that it was a book. The shape, size, scent and slight tears in the corners of the paper from the corners of the book all pointed towards the gift book.

"Was it...Minerva?" Irma asked, looking up for a moment from her book. Minerva stayed silent. "Alright, starting now." She carefully handled the gift, knowing now that it was a book. She opened the gift, peeling the paper off and not looking at the title until she finished opening it.

There it was, a copy of the best around dictionary, the Fletcher Dictionary. Irma smiled warmly at Hagrid.

"You have much taste in book buying, Rubeus," she told him, holding the dictionary close to her. Now she had a book with more words than she knew, which was _quite_ a difficult thing to find. She could start up with her words of the day again!

"'twas my pleasure," Hagrid replied, smiling a relieved smile.

"Now Argus, you may go," Filius said, after Irma had finished up and was flipping through it madly.

"What about yourself, Filius?" Argus asked defensively as he narrowed his eyes.

"For Merlin's sake! This is Christmas. Just flip a Knut and move on!" Poppy yelled, feeling sick and tired of their childish ways.

"What a lovely idea," Filius said as he rummaged around his pockets. "Ah...here! Now, I'll throw and you call it. Kings or Queens?" Filius asked as he prepared himself to toss it up.

"Queens," Argus muttered coldly.

"Nice choice," Poppy said, grinning.

The coin went up into the air and landed on the side with a king on it.

"What a worthless coin! Are you sure that was fair? Stupid, ruddy Knut!" Argus exclaimed, glowering angrily and kicking the ground.

"Fine," he pouted after his little tantrum and went to retrieve his package. It was a tiny square box. Argus carelessly opened up the box and shook out the contents. A simple, white feather floated down slowly. "I think my secret Santa forgot their gift," he grumbled, shaking the box once more.

"Argus, you forgot to tell us who you think you have!" Sybil exclaimed, smiling wackily.

"You," he spat. "Nothing? But the box, I mean, but really?"

"I got you that feather as your gift," Sybil informed him peacefully.

"A feather?" he choked out, sounding more than a little confused. "Why in Merlin's name would you get me a feather?"

"To help you reflect on your inner softness, of course," Sybil explained to him, acting as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"My inner softness?" he repeated, his voice heavy with doubt.

"But of course!" she breathed excitedly.

"Alright. Now it's your turn, Flitwick. No one left to cheat out of it with your obviously faulty Knut," Argus hissed, his eyes lighting up a little.

"Okay," Filius agreed, avoiding Filch's looks. "I suppose that one is mine," he said, mostly to himself as he made his way up to the tree to pick up his gift. "From... Minerva?" he said, as he tried to remember if she had given anything yet. She nodded curtly. "Okay."

Filius' gift had been the only one in a bag. He picked it up his eyes went to the small card on the bag.

 

_To Filius_

_I wish you a very happy Christmas._

_I also wanted to let you know that you are doing a fabulous job._

_You're a great leader and a great headmaster._

_I didn't believe I would enjoy doing this, but, and I_ hate _to say this, but you were right._

_From Minerva McGonagall_

 

Filius smiled widely and placed the card beside him. He opened the present slowly, wondering what it had been that had made Bah-Humbug Minerva McGonagall have fun Christmas shopping. He took the tissue paper covering the top of the bag out until he reached a velvet bag.

Filius took the bag out and opened it. Inside was a clear, winter snow globe of Hogwarts. He smiled even more widely at this and he shook it lightly. The miniature Hogwarts was covered in a glaze of snow and glitter. Filius put the snow globe down carefully and grinned at Minerva.

"Thank you," he smiled, shaking it again. Minerva smiled.

"My pleasure."

"We should do this again next year," Poppy exclaimed, grinning.

"I see..." Sybil started, her eyes glassing over slightly, "that we will!" Everyone groaned as Sybil made her prediction.


End file.
